Oops! Maybe Went Too Hard on Reta...

A couple of weeks at 5mg and no effect yet is consistent with quality issues or a slow early response. The 5mg mark is where most people start noticing something, so a few more weeks before drawing conclusions makes sense. What did the jump from lower doses feel like?

the four-day rough window at 0.5 then clearing to minor is the standard pattern - the first few days at each new dose level are the worst of what that dose will produce, and it usually stabilizes significantly by day 4 or 5. the OTC support during that window is the right call for getting through without backing off a dose that would otherwise work